Eight months after a ceremonial groundbreaking was derailed by the nascent COVID-19 pandemic, the skeleton of Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center's new Restorative Care Village is beginning to shape.

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The first phase of the project, located at the intersection of State Street and Zonal Avenue, will be comprised of:

  • a 96-bed recuperative care center intended to provide interim shelter for unhoused persons discharged from the nearby hospital; and
  • a 64-bed residential treatment center providing therapy and supportive services as an alternative to hospitalization.

CannonDesign is the architect for the project, which will reportedly make use of prefabricated modular units, in addition to steel-frame construction.

Los Angeles County is also planning a second phase of the Restorative Care Village, consisting of:

  • a Mental Health Outpatient Center providing services for clients living with serious mental illnesses;
  • a Mental Health Urgent Care Center to replace an existing facility on Marengo Street; and
  • a Recovery and Respite Center to provide temporary shelter to persons who are currently inebriated or going through substance withdrawal.

Officials have also considered the possibility of adding permanent supportive housing to the campus, although there are no definitive plans to do so at this point in time.

Construction of the Restorative Care Village comes at a time when Los Angeles County is seeking to capitalize on the sprawling medical center campus in its effort to tackle the region's spiraling homelessness crisis.

A motion recently approved by the Board of Supervisors directs the County's Sacramento Office to lobby state lawmakers for up to $500 million in funding for the redevelopment of the campus - including the second phase of the Restorative Care Village and the proposed adaptive reuse of the historic General Hospital Building, which has been vacant since the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

“There is no question that the investments at the L.A. County + USC Restorative Care Village and General Hospital are needed now more than ever,” said 1st District Supervisor Hilda Solis in a news release. “The Restorative Care Village will help build capacity to shelter people experiencing homelessness and provide services onsite. Additionally, the General Hospital Reuse Project seeks to address the lack of affordable and low-income housing, a primary contributor to the County’s homelessness crisis."